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Salmon Arm Silverbacks go one for two in weekend games

‘Backs shut out Nanaimo, take losses to Cowichan and Alberni Valley
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Salmon Arm Silverbacks’ defenceman Akito Hirose hauls down Alberni Valley Bulldogs’ Stephen Castagna on a breakaway with 7 seconds left in the third period. Castagna was awarded a goal because the Silverbacks’ net was empty when he went down. (Susan Quinn photo)

The Salmon Arm Silverbacks took a three-day tip to the island over the weekend, returning with one shutout win and two losses after their trio of games were complete.

On Friday, Jan. 18, Salmon Arm out-shot the Bulldogs, but it was Alberni Valley who got through with their scoring chances in a 6-3 win over the Silverbacks.

The Bulldogs would score the opening goal of the night in the first period, just before to the nine minute mark from Aaron Bohlinger.

Salmon Arm tied the game less than three minutes into the middle period, with Matthew Verboon continuing his scoring streak and dropping his fourth goal in four games since returning from the World Juniors.

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A point shot from Sam Pouliot was deflected by Mitch Deelstra and in for the Bulldogs, giving them a 2-1 lead. On their second power play of the game, Salmon Arm was again able to even the score. John Little continued his streak with a goal that made it six straight games with a point for the young forward.

Salmon Arm would tie things up just before the halfway mark of the third, giving some optimism for a win. Nick Unruh passed the puck up to Noah Wakeford, who gave it to Hudson Schandor for a quick goal.

Again going against the play, a long shot from the right wall by Mastrodonato hit off the left post and just fell in for a 4-3 Bulldogs advantage with just under five minutes left. Alberni Valley would go on to score twice more, including one on an empty net as the Silverbacks pulled their goalie for the man-advantage.

Shutting out the Clippers

The Silverbacks continued their trio of island games the following night, dropping into Nanaimo to take on the Clippers. They bounced back from the previous night’s loss to produce a 4-0 shutout victory in the Nanaimo arena, earning two points in the process.

In the first period, the scoring got off to a slow start, with no goals for either team until the 15-minute mark. Justin Wilson opened things up for Salmon Arm on a clutch shorthanded play. Just 30 seconds into a penalty being served by Silverbacks’ forward Hudson Schandor, Wilson came down alone and broke the stalemate with an unassisted, shorthanded goal.

Schandor would snipe his own point for the Silverbacks not long after getting out of the penalty box, scoring with under a minute remaining in the first off the assist from Nick Unruh and Noah Wakeford.

With only one penalty in the first period, in the middle frame things started to get a little more heated. Nanaimo took a slashing penalty in the opening minutes, with a blow to the head and misconduct penalty coming up later in the period as well. While things got a bit more physical on the ice, only one goal was put in during the second, again from Wilson with the assist from Matthew Verboon.

Heading into the final period, Salmon Arm held a three-goal advantage and would extend it to four after Tyson Gayfer scored off an assist from Trevor Adams in the third. Both teams would take roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the third, but no major fights broke out as cooler heads prevailed. The game finished 4-0 in favour of the Silverbacks, who locked it down with well-timed points and solid defensive play.

Capitals come out on top

Heading into their third game of the weekend on the island, the Silverbacks couldn’t keep up the momentum from the previous night’s shutout victory against the Cowichan Valley Capitals, taking a 7-2 loss.

The Capitals started to pile up their lead early, tallying up a triplet of goals in the first period to push themselves ahead in the game. Cole Broadhurst opened the scoring, with Niko Esposito-Selivanov and Kolton Cousins following up before the period was over.

In the second, Silverbacks’ forward Trevor Adams made Salmon Arm’s first goal of the evening early into the period, assisted by Matthew Verboon. The pair made a good push on the power play and put the Silverbacks on the board in the process. Brady Lynn of the Capitals made a reply not long after, and the score would hold at 4-1 for the Capitals until the end of the second.

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Cowichan kept up the pressure in the final period, extending their lead by a further three points before the end of the game. Preston Brodziak made the first goal of the period for the Capitals, with Doug Scott following it up ten minutes later. Trevor Adams made it a two-goal game for himself near the end of the third, again assisted by Verboon. Kolton Cousins would score his second of the game in the final minutes, sealing the final score at 7-2 for the Capitals.

After a three-day spree on the Island, the Silverbacks are at home again this coming weekend for a double-header against the Trail Smoke Eaters at the Shaw Centre, Jan. 25 and 26. The puck drops for both games at 7 p.m.


 

@Jodi_Brak117
jodi.brak@saobserver.net

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Silverbacks’ forward Justin Wilson flexes his stick before firing off a shot past Preston Brodziak against the Cowichan Valley Capitals during their Dec. 15 game at the Shaw Centre in Salmon Arm. (Jodi Brak/Salmon Arm Observer)